Chiropractic Techniques

All chiropractors are trained in diversified chiropractic techniques. It is the style where we position you, turn you, twist you or push on you to get the joint to cavitate (aka “crack”). I’m always gentle and careful and use as little force as is needed to move the joint. I can go harder if needed for those of you who love to be “cracked”, but I’m always safe and conscientious in my technique.

 

I am particularly good at supine diversified moves. This could be where I roll you back onto my hand from a seated position with your arms crossed to get the joints to release, or you might even be on your back already. I can get most patients from T2 through L4 with this technique, some even from T1 through L5 depending on their body type. It is particularly effective for the upper thoracic spine (T2-4) and the junction between your thoracic and lumbar spine (T10-L2), and for those with advanced degenerative changes or stenosis in their lumbar spine (lower back), spondylolisthesis (slippage forward or backwards of a vertebrae), or patients that are kyphotic in their thoracic spine(i.e rounded forwards or slouching in their upper or mid-back).

 

 

 

This technique is used to treat lumbar disc bulges and sciatica. Not many of us do this technique (so you are very lucky that we do). It is very effective and I have kept hundreds of patients out of surgery with it. It was developed by Dr. James Cox, a chiropractic radiologist and one of the pioneers of our profession, and is also called Cox Technique. We use a special table with your feet strapped in while we hold the vertebrae in place above the spot where the disc bulge is. We gently stretch your legs down so as to distract the vertebrae and put your spine into flexion. The disc is essentially sucked back into place a little bit at a time to bring it off the sciatic nerve roots. It takes several visits, usually in the 10-20 visit range, to treat in most cases. If you need surgery I have excellent surgeons that I refer to regularly. However, chances are 80% or greater that I can resolve this so that you don’t need surgery. Flexion-distraction is also particularly helpful for cases with stenosis and advanced degenerative change in the lumbar spine (lower back). Adding laser therapy is also particularly helpful in disc-related cases of sciatica. Dr. Arthur Pistey taught me flexion-distraction technique in my first year of practice in 1998. Thank you, Art, for this amazing skill and wonderful gift.

 

Our office has a special table where the neck, thoracic, lumbar and sacroiliac pieces drop gently away from our adjustive thrust. We pop the piece up about a centimeter and it drops down when we make the adjustment with our hands. This is a gentle way to move the joint when there is any difficulty in positioning the patient, advanced arthritis, mobility issues, muscle spasm or guarding. This was developed by a Dr. Thompson, another chiropractic pioneer, and is often called Thompson Technique.

 

Activator is a measured thrust with an handheld instrument that moves the joint but you do not get a cavitation or crack. Many of you call it “that clicky thing”. Yes, I have one of those, too. I took two semesters of Activator technique in my professional training and am well versed in it’s use. It is particularly helpful for the jaw or TMJ, shoulders, children or elderly who need a specific and very gentle technique, or in areas that our hands are not fast enough to get the job done.

 

This technique is taught only at the school I went to: Logan College of Chiropractic. It is a gentle, non-thrust technique focused on the sacrotuberous ligament while the patient is prone (i.e. on their stomach). Gentle sustained force is held on the sacrotuberous with secondary contacts at the levels that require adjusting. It is effective, relaxing, and particularly appropriate for those who cannot be adjusted by other traditional techniques that apply force or pressure, or techniques that require any contortion of the patient. Those who have had pelvic fractures, trauma, have scar tissue or cannot be adjusted on their side or cannot tolerate downward pressure will benefit the most from Logan Basic Technique. It is similar to craniosacral techniques in some ways, but has it’s own unique approach and philosophy.